Xiu Yun was unwilling to flee far. She hid in the mountains and watched the villagers return with torches, then took advantage of the quiet night to return to her own doorstep, overhearing the conversation between Xiu Shui and Min Da’an.
She glared fiercely at the man on the bed, her eyes seeming to shoot fire, gritting her teeth and enunciating each word: “Min. Da. An!”
Min Da’an was startled and hurriedly said: “Xiu Yun, don’t shout. Things are already like this. You, you should leave quickly! I’ll give you money, wait a moment…” As he spoke, he got up to fetch money.
Xiu Yun trembled with anger: “Do you think I came back for this money? My reputation is gone. I’ll be called a whore by this village for the rest of my life.” She knocked away the money pouch Min Da’an was offering, “I want to tell the whole village how you and Xiu Shui conspired, how you bribed outsiders to harm me…”
“
Xiu Shui, still kneeling, crawled forward in terror, hugging Xiu Yun and begging: “Sister, sister, please don’t tell anyone. If you speak out, I’m doomed. I truly didn’t know about the peddler, I didn’t mean to harm you. Sister, believe me! Sister…”
Xiu Yun painfully closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. She hated Min Da’an and resented Xiu Shui, but if this matter got out, Min Da’an would likely be beaten and expelled from Luo Shang Village, while Xiu Shui would be drowned in a pig cage.
She forcefully removed Xiu Shui’s arms. Xiu Shui was truly terrified, shaking and crying, calling “Sister” repeatedly. But she heard Xiu Yun say bitterly: “I won’t tell anyone. You and Da’an can live your life together.”
Xiu Shui was stunned and stopped crying. Min Da’an felt relieved, quickly picking up the money pouch that had rolled to the wall corner and stuffing it into Xiu Yun’s hand: “Xiu Yun, in this lifetime, I’ve wronged you. In the next life, I…”
Xiu Yun glared at him: “In the next life or any life after, I never want to be connected to a beast like you!”
Min Da’an was angry but didn’t dare provoke Xiu Yun, so he stood to one side awkwardly.
Xiu Yun left with the money, crying. After Min Da’an was caught with Xiu Shui in bed, he had hoped Xiu Yun wouldn’t spread the news.
“
But after she left, he increasingly regretted letting her take all the household money, wondering if she might come back to cause trouble for him and Xiu Shui.
Min Da’an comforted the frightened Xiu Shui until she fell asleep, then quietly left.
Yu Yi, seeing Min Da’an leave in the middle of the night and heading in the direction Xiu Yun had gone, vaguely guessed his intentions and ran through another path behind the house to get ahead of him.
Chapter 36: Village Scum (4)
Xiu Yun carried her bundle, hurriedly leaving Luo Shang Village and climbing the mountain. She hadn’t eaten since being caught by the villagers. Min Ling brought her food, but she was still weak and her legs gave out halfway up the mountain. She found a stone to sit and rest, and soon saw Min Da’an walking up the mountain path.
Xiu Yun was startled, standing up and asking: “You followed me…” Halfway through her sentence, she saw the murderous look in Min Da’an’s eyes and suddenly understood. Min Da’an immediately tried to grab her bundle, and Xiu Yun let go and ran.
Min Da’an got the money pouch but was still not satisfied, chasing Xiu Yun closely.
Near a large stone close to the mountain path’s corner, Xiu Yun had run only a few steps when she heard a little girl’s voice call: “Be careful!” She turned back to see Min Da’an lunging directly at her and quickly dodged.
Min Da’an, just steps behind Xiu Yun, saw a steep cliff ahead. He wanted to push her down the mountain but was unexpectedly warned. His lunge missed, and as he tried to steady himself, the rain-soaked mountain path was extremely slippery. He couldn’t stop sliding towards the cliff.
Terrified, he dropped the bundle somewhere, wildly waving his hands and finally grabbing a thin tree by the cliff. However, more than half his body was already hanging below the cliff, suspended in mid-air.
The rain-softened ground meant the thin tree was slowly being pulled out by Min Da’an’s weight. His feet kicked uselessly, and he tried desperately to grab the ground with his other hand, only managing to grasp mud, crying out in panic: “Help! Help!”
Xiuyun ran over and hooked her hand around another thicker tree by the cliff, then grabbed the thin tree near its root, finally stopping Min Da’an from sliding further down. But with her strength, she couldn’t pull Min Da’an up. Min Da’an tried several times but remained suspended in midair.
Xiuyun recalled the earlier warning voice, like Min Li’s, and looked back to find Min Li had indeed followed her. “Li’er, quickly go call someone to help!”
Min Da’an urgently called out: “Will she have time to call people from the mountain bottom? Li’er, come help pull me up. Work together with Aunt Xiuyun to pull.”
Yu Yi stood by Xiuyun, but didn’t seem in a hurry to pull Min Da’an up.
She asked, “Uncle Da’an, answer me a few questions first.”
“You girl! What questions at a time like this?! Pull me up!” Min Da’an was furious.
Yu Yi smiled lightly and asked, “First, did Aunt Xiuyun really cheat on her husband?”
Min Da’an hesitated only for a moment before immediately answering: “No, no cheating.”
“Second, was the peddler who bullied Aunt Xiuyun someone you paid to do so?”
“Yes, yes, I hired him! Good Li’er, stop asking, pull me up first. After I’m up, I’ll answer anything you ask.” Min Da’an pleaded.
Yu Yi continued to ask leisurely, “Third, Uncle Da’an, why exactly did you want to harm Aunt Xiuyun?”
Min Da’an’s grip was weakening, and Xiuyun could no longer hold the thin tree. Panicked and anxious, he responded instinctively at top speed: “Because I had an affair with Xiushuang!”
Yu Yi nodded satisfactorily: “Uncle Da’an, if you promise to tell everyone the same thing when we return to the village, I’ll help Aunt Xiuyun pull you up.”
“I promise, I promise, pull me up!” Min Da’an said urgently.
Yu Yi moved forward, and together with Xiuyun pulled Min Da’an up. Unexpectedly, the moment Min Da’an climbed up, he grabbed Xiuyun’s arm and violently pulled her towards the cliff slope, while stepping back himself.
Yu Yi knew Min Da’an was vicious. Although she had pulled him up, she was still on guard.
Xiuyun sat alone in an empty room, staring blankly into space. Suddenly, someone outside her door called her “Aunt Xiuyun.”
In the village, houses were never closed if someone was home. Yu Yi saw the door open but heard no response from Xiuyun, so she walked in and peeked inside. Seeing Xiuyun sitting in the room, she stepped in, raising a small cloth bag, “Aunt Xiuyun, I found the bag you dropped and brought it to you.”
This was the bag with money that Xiuyun had taken up the mountain, which Min Da’an had snatched and dropped. After Min Da’an’s incident, everyone was still in shock and had forgotten about the small bag. Yu Yi came to find the bag partly because Xiuyun would need the money to live, and partly to have a chance to see Xiuyun.
Yu Yi placed the bag beside her and sat quietly, keeping her company.
Xiuyun suddenly asked, “Ling’er, do you think I should go save Xiushuang?”
” In fact, Min Ling was just a little girl, but after recent events, Xiuyun felt she was quite sensible and unconsciously asked her about her difficult dilemma.
Yu Yi said, “I can’t say for sure. Aunt Xiushuang did make a mistake, but being drowned alive is too pitiful.” Objectively, Xiushuang had indeed done wrong, but her crime did not deserve death; Min Da’an was the truly vicious one. However, in these mountain villages, women caught in adultery were typically punished by drowning in a pig cage.
